The ease with which great volumes of data may be transmitted from a computer attached to the Web and equipped with a Web browser has led to the development of widespread electronic commerce over the Web. At the present time, it is becoming very rare to find a business organization of any kind that does not transact some aspect of the business via the Web. As consumers and businesses become more familiar and comfortable with Web transactions, they become more and more willing to try the Web for all aspects of electronic commerce.
With the development and rapid expansion of the Web and other like networks, hypertext markup languages became the primary vehicle for distribution of data over such networks. A basic hypertext language, HTML, is described in detail in the test Just Java text, 2nd Edition, Peter Vanderlinden, Sun Microsystems, Inc., 1997, particularly at Chapter 7, pp. 249-268, dealing with handling Web pages; and also in the text, Mastering the Internet, G. H. Cady et al., published by Sybex Inc., Alameda, Calif., 1996, particularly at pp. 637-642, on HTML in the formation of Web pages. The Web pages are implemented so as to be used for the distribution of Web documents containing text, images, both still and moving, and sound, as well as programs.
The above three rapidly evolving technologies: the Web distribution network; object oriented programming; and hypertext markup languages, have now all been correlated into a system for distribution and exchange via the Web of data between any two computer applications. The system is specifically known as Web Services. The system is based on both suppliers of the data in the form of text based documents and the users of such data conforming to several industry standards developed by the Word Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The primary standard is Extensible Markup Language (XML) for defining data and creating markup languages in -the form of XML tags. The resulting XML documents are text based and, thus, may be processed on any platform in the (distribution of the Web Services. Accordingly, suppliers who wish to offer their Web Services must qualify the proposed services according to the following standards:                XML: a hypertext markup language extensively used in the distribution of Web Services and other electronic business components over the Web. (For a basic description of Web Services, reference is made to the text: Web Services, A Technical Introduction, H. M. Deitel et al., published 2003, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, for general information and particularly to Appendix A, pp. 319-334.)        (SOAP) Simple Object Access Protocol: a protocol established to enable the programming objects that form part of the XML items being distributed to communicate with each other via messages (Chapter 6 of the above text).        (UDDI) Universal Description, Discovery and Integration Registry: where suppliers or developers may list their Web Services offered for distribution, i.e. advertise their Web Services.        (WSDL) Web Services Description Language: an XML language used by suppliers and developers for describing the offered Web Services on the UDDI Registry. (Also described in detail in Chapter 6 of the above-mentioned text.) It should be noted that WSDL is a language intended to be read by computer applications rather than human beings. Thus, all messages generated, including fault messages, are read by applications.        
To users (purchasers) and suppliers (vendors) of Web Services who are qualified in all of the above-required standards, the system has been efficient in the distribution of services over the Web. The items have been selected by interested users from the UDDI, distributed over the Web from the suppliers to such requesting users and subsequently billed to and tracked, if necessary, by the requesting user. This has been done with a minimum of human, i.e. person-machine intervention being necessary; which, of course, is one the advantages and goals of Web distribution.
In indirect channel distribution of services by registered vendors to purchasers, it is often the case that two or more registered service vendors, who are frequently business partners of the host, contribute to the provision of the service. The purchaser may negotiate special purchase pricing for specific purchases. Special customer, i.e. purchaser discounts may be introduced into the indirect channel distribution system from time to time. Also, from time to time, business partners may be offered addenda from the host wherein the partner, by accepting an addendum, agrees to specified prices with respect to specified services offered to the purchasers. With all these potential activities progressing with a minimum of human intervention, i.e. person-machine or person to person intervention, it is understandable that any customer may become wary that the eventual price generated by the system to be charged to the customer/purchaser may not be the most favorable price.
There is consequently a need in the pricing of goods and services transmitted and delivered through indirect channel distribution via Web services to have a uniform pricing system through which a purchaser may have the comfort of knowing that he is getting best price, which will be referred to the most favored price for services and goods delivered via indirect channel distribution. There is also a need for pricing systems that are easy to check and to interpret should questions concerning obligations and pricing arise.